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A Rallying Cry for Female Athletes

A rally cry is more than a yell. It’s a visceral response to a mental reaction — frustration, elation and every emotion in between. It’s a call to assemble. It’s a call to advance. In sports, the rally cry can turn the tide of a game, and in the process, change the trajectory of a life.

The new Just Do It film, “Rallying Cry,” testifies to the power of female determination, and shows how today’s women break down barriers through sport. The film features athletes from across the world, including Australian boxer Tayla Harris, Thai runner Rachwin Wong, Australian footballer Sam Kerr, Japanese skateboarder Aori Nishimura, South Korean dancer Amber Liu, and more.

Watch 18-Year-Old LeBron James Predict His Future Success

On the night of May 22, 2003, after the results of the year’s NBA Draft Lottery were announced, 18-year-old LeBron James calmly looked at reporters who asked him about the pressure he faced as the newfound hero of a struggling franchise.

“No pressure,” he says. “There is no pressure at all. I’ve been getting pressure since I was 10 years old.”

In the new Just Do It film, I Believe, James reveals a confidence in his dreams that could have easily been rooted in 2018, beginning his 16th year in the League and finding himself in new territory once again. But the highlights throughout his career still point back to the words spoken during that press conference more than a decade ago, when a kid from Akron had a simple goal: play in the NBA.

For more details, go to nike.com/justdoit. To view all the films in the Just Do It collection, click here.

A Marathon at Age 81? Why Not?

A few years after her husband had passed away, New York-native Marjorie struck up a conversation with her friend, a marathoner, at the dog park one day. “Do you think it would be okay for me to run the marathon?” Marjorie asked her.

Seven months later, Marjorie was at the starting line of New York City’s most prestigious race for her first 26.2. With 50,000 other runners. At 81 years old.

Marjorie's story, told in “Late Bloomer,” the newest film in the Just Do It collection, proves that there is no limit to human determination in sport — not ability, experience, gender and certainly not age. While some thought Marjorie’s goal of running a marathon had passed an expiration date, her self-belief never wavered. Why not? became her mantra to achieve a dream that some considered crazy.

As Marjorie ran from Brooklyn into Queens then into Manhattan, well beyond the marathon’s halfway mark, she knew that the race was hers to finish. She wasn’t going to stop.

“I believe that if you can go halfway, and still be running and on your feet, you’ll always finish the other half,” says Marjorie. “If you start something, something that you really want to do, you’ll find a way to complete it.”

For more details, go to nike.com/justdoit. To view all the films in the Just Do It collection, click here.

Eliud Kipchoge Challenges Runners to Dream Bigger

When Eliud Kipchoge toed the starting line in Berlin, his aim wasn’t only to win the 26.2-mile race — he wanted to break the world marathon record of two hours, two minutes and 57 seconds.

When Kipchoge crossed the finish line on September 16, arms raised and a smile stretched across his face, he did just that, setting the new world record of 2:01:39 and beating the former record by an incredible 78 seconds.

“Fastest Ever,” the latest film in the Just Do It collection, celebrates Kipchoge’s determination to be not just the best, but the best there ever was. After winning nine of his last 10 marathons and running the fastest marathon ever, Kipchoge’s goal of breaking the world record was always in sight. For runners everywhere, Kipchoge’s success proves that smiling through one more mile, one more race, one more personal best can add up to fulfilling even the craziest dreams.

For more details, go to nike.com/justdoit. To view all of the films in the Just Do It collection, click HERE.

Caster Semenya Proves Believing In Yourself Pays Off

“We all have purpose, and I believe that each of us has an assignment we’re here to complete.” Those are the sage words of two-time Olympian and middle-distance running force Caster Semenya. With 18 gold medals to her name, the assignment for this bold, unapologetic athlete is to never stop pushing hard — both on and off the track.

We get a sense of that tenacity in “Just Do It: Caster Semenya,” a film that charts the runner’s journey to become elite, and the pivotal moments that shaped her into the athlete she is today. Semenya’s challenge to viewers: “We have been given life, but no one can live it for you — you have to go out every day and work hard to earn it.”

A Crazy Dream Becomes Reality When You Just Do It

For 30 years, the “Just Do It” mantra has been a motivational call for athletes nationwide, across all sports, and all levels of play. To celebrate that rich diversity, the second film in the JDI series, “Dream Crazy,” focuses on a collection of stories that represent athletes who are household names and those who should be. The common denominator: All leverage the power of sport to move the world forward.

Along with inspirational pros — LeBron James, Serena Williams, Odell Beckham Jr., Eliud Kipchoge — in this film, you’ll meet incredible athletes: 29-year-old basketball phenom and wheelchair athlete Megan Blunk, who took gold in Rio in 2016; Isaiah Bird, who was born without legs, and at 10 years old has become the one to beat on his wrestling team; Charlie Jabaley — an Ironman who made over his life by dropping 120 pounds, going vegan, and in the process, reversed the growth of a life-long brain tumor; and Michigander Alicia Woollcott, who simultaneously played linebacker and was named homecoming queen during her high school senior season.

Additional appearances are made by emerging professional athletes and world champions alike: Canadian soccer star Alphonso Davies; Hawaiian big wave surfer Kai Lenny; American skateboarders Lacey Baker and Nyjah Huston; German champion boxer Zeina Nassar; and U.S. Soccer's Women’s National Team.

Narrated by Colin Kaepernick, “Dream Crazy” provides encouragement to everyone who has crazy dreams and goals that may seem unsurmountable.

Women and Sport: Unstoppable Together

For 30 years, Nike’s mantra to Just Do It has called on the power of sport to overcome any obstacle — from issues of equality to gridlocked traffic, and everything in between. This plays out in the new, irreverent film and first Nike Women’s JDI campaign in Mexico, Juntas Imparables (“Unstoppable Together”), directed by Tom Noakes and scored by Dillon Francis ft. Young Ash.

The opening shots show the bustling streets of Mexico City, with an endless stream of cars frozen in traffic. Then a woman sprints by on a run, igniting a citywide rally cry that shows how the challenges of being female are no obstacle for those intent on achieving their goals. The film is humorous and wry, and features cameos by top female Mexican athletes such as Nayeli Rangel, Mariana Juárez, Paola Morán, Alexa Moreno and Casandra Ascencio.

Juntas Imparables also coincides with a call to action: From September 10 through October 19, Mexican women can register a team of four to log workout minutes through the Nike Training Club (NTC) App, Nike Run Club (NRC) or in face-to-face sessions at the Nike Women MX House.

Once the challenge begins, teams can review progress via a scoreboard; the winning team will receive a one-year Nike sponsorship. Nike will also convert every minute registered into hours of play for kids through “Made To Play” and in collaboration with partnering organizations. Get more information here.

Voice of Belief Feat. Serena Williams

Serena Williams’ 23 Grand Slam titles, six won in New York, is evidence of what is possible when you dare to dream big.

Today, as Serena Williams steps on the court in Flushing, Nike releases its latest Just Do It film, Voice of Belief. By blending archival and match footage with a voiceover by Serena’s father and first coach, Richard Williams, the spot highlights Serena’s dream-come-true of winning the major.

The film also serves as a key touch point in the 30th anniversary celebration of Nike’s famed call to action. In 1988, Nike inspired a revolution in sport participation and the drive to chase one’s crazy dreams. That inspiration came from a series of advertisements tagged with three simple words: Just Do It.

Since then, Just Do It has stood as a rally cry that inspires self-belief and has helped athletes from around the become their best by leveraging the power of sport.

Voice of Belief, created by Nike and Portland-based creative agency Wieden + Kennedy, will air on ESPN during the first two rounds of the tournament.

ON AIR – First Look At Shoe Samples

The six winners of the Nike: On Air contest – Gabrielle (New York City), Jasmine (London), Lou (Paris), Gwang (Seoul), Cash (Shanghai), and Yuta (Tokyo) – recently flew to Nike World Headquarters to take the next step in their sneaker design journey. At Nike WHQ, each winner had the chance to refine their shoes with a team of footwear designers, materials and color designers, and developers who collectively pored over the designs in individual teams. But before all of that, the moment of truth was revealed in a surprise first-look at their samples.

Meet Ascending Sprint Star Reece Prescod

Striving, training, fighting for every centimeter—it’s what emergent 100-meter specialist Reece Prescod does every day as he prepares for the 2018 European Athletics Championships, where Nike is the official partner. The 22-year-old already holds the British 100m title, and is looking to break 10 seconds in this month’s championship race in Berlin.

In this one-minute video, director Ian Derry relates Prescod’s personal quest for success through candid insights and shots of the Nike athlete sprinting through iconic Berlin locations such as the Messendam subway. “My vision was to try and articulate what it takes to become faster; the tiny margins of potentially training a whole lifetime to gain just a few centimeters,” says Derry, who produced this video and two others on 200-meter World Champion Dafne Schippers and 1500m runner Konstanze Klosterhalfen for a series called Portraits of Speed. “Capturing a visual portrait of their physicality to bring to life their voice and story was a real privilege."

The 2018 European Athletics Championships begins August 6. Watch the other Portraits of Speed here and here.

Harry Kane on Erasing Doubt

Not long ago, Harry Kane was relegated to reserve play. This came after being dropped from his first club, when he was just nine years old, and spending years in loan limbo. Doubt over the future has crippled many young players, but for Kane, it became a spark to prove all the ratings wrong.

Today, his goal-scoring record is among Europe’s best and his England team is on to its next challenge.

These short films are part of Nike Football’s Believe campaign. Learn more here.

Too Young? Not Kylian Mbappe

History comes naturally to French footballer Kylian Mbappe. The forward is the youngest-ever to score a goal for AS Monaco, the youngest-ever scorer in a European club semi-final, and the youngest to be nominated for football’s greatest individual prize, among other honors. Today, the 19-year-old racked up another accolade as the youngest French goalscorer in World Cup history. But age is only a number for Mbappe, as he describes in the Nike Football film, “Too Young”

“On your back, there’s a number, not your age” says Mbappe as he’s surrounded by the French flag and the chants of his home nation. “Either the player can play or he can’t.”

Coming off the heels of back-to-back World Cup victories for the French team, Mbappe is once again primed to defy his age — and establish his legacy.

These short films are part of Nike Football’s Believe campaign. Learn more here.

"This is Naija: A Nigerian Football Story"

"This is Naija: A Nigerian Football Story" captures the pulse of the country’s unbridled, optimistic and confident approach to football. The documentary is directed by filmmaker Andrew Dosunmu, who also produced the 2006 feature “The African Game.”

Wherever you travel in Nigeria — a diverse country with more than 500 different ethnic groups — football serves as a universal language, the connective tissue that unifies the land and drives the spirit, belief and energy of the nation. Football provides a rhythm for daily life in the streets, the clubs, the markets and on the pitch, from the energy and chaos of Lagos to the wooded savannas of Abeokuta.

The film, which includes interviews with Segun Odegbami (a star of the 1980 Nigerian Africa Cup team) as well as current players Odion Ighalo and Wilfred Ndidi, shares how the Super Eagles' mission to bring Naija to the world takes shape.

Do It the Brasilian Way

With cameos from national team athletes Philippe Coutinho, Marquinhos, Willian and Thiago Silva, the legendary Ronaldo, up-and-coming players Vinicius Júnior, David Neres, Lucas Paquetá and Paulinho as well as amateur players, this film depicts Brasilian football through its unique balance of talent, commitment and joy.

The term “Brasileiragem” (which, in Portuguese, is a combo of “Brasil” and “ball playing style”) was coined to define this, which manifests in everything from the country’s street art to the athletes’ unique confidence and style.

Never Ask

Focused on starring Russian national team forward Fedor Smolov, "Never Ask" champions a Just Do It attitude. After being cut from his academy team and going scoreless for two years of league play, Smolov didn’t give up. Instead, he dug deep to realize his potential — rising from nearly forgotten squad member to star player.